to contact sacmo send email to
SACMO
PO Box 52
O'Fallon, MO
63366
SECOND
AMENDMENT
COALITION
OF MISSOURI
April 5, 2006
Dear SACMO Supporter:
An event of great importance to gun owners, gun dealers and freedom loving citizens of Missouri occurred in the Missouri state capitol Tuesday morning, April 4th, 2006. It is the direct result of almost two years of financial and human resource investment by the Second Amendment Coalition of Missouri. The event took place at the House of Representative hearing room number #7 at the Special Committee for General Laws for HB-1751, sponsored by pro gun, pro freedom Representative, Brian Munzlinger from Williamstown, Mo.
There occurred a dramatic moment reminiscent of the climactic courtroom scene in any good movie as the guilty party blurts out a confession followed by stunned silence as the realization of the magnitude of what was just said sank in.
The bill being heard was one that would repeal the old system of Permit-To-Acquire (borrow, lease, rent, give, leave, buy, sell, purchase or in any way provide) a handgun. Instead, it would have been replaced with a Permit-To-Purchase system. It retained many of the evils of the old system but was still a big improvement. The main obstacle to the complete elimination of the whole system was the sheriff’s association, which represented the 114 county sheriffs, plus the sheriff of the City of St. Louis and the police chief of St. Louis County.
After long and powerful presentations by the SACMO President and board member Fred Heberer, which followed strong and convincing arguments by the representative from the NRA, the chief lobbyist for the sheriffs association took the stand to address the bill. This just after the bill sponsor had stated that he had worked with the sheriffs since last summer to come up with this bill, which was, “One that the sheriffs could live with.”
Immediately the lobbyist started being peppered with sharp questions by the representatives on the committee: “You say now that you don’t care for this bill yet we were just told that you were responsible for it, isn’t that right?” “Isn’t this just a revenue measure for the sheriffs?” “How many of your members really want to keep it?” “Isn’t this just registration?” “Isn’t this just a data base of gun owners?” “What good does this permit system do?” “Do you want to keep it or drop it?” “I don’t know if you were being evasive or what but, I want to know if the sheriffs association would have a problem if we just did away with the whole thing, and I want to know right now. So, do we keep the system or drop it?”
All of a sudden the chief lobbyist for the sheriffs association blurted out, “Just drop the whole system.”
I flinched! There was a silence. The sheriff’s representative departed. The three other SACMO representatives in attendance looked back and forth as if to ask, “What’s this mean?” AND THE ANSWER IS, “The only organized opposition to the most horrible gun law in Missouri just folded its tent and left.
That’s the good news and now, the bad. Folks, there’s a lot left to do. The bill has to be rewritten, go through the House committee again, to the full House, then the senate and many steps in between. It is unlikely to pass this year but the main point is this: There is no longer a strong constituency to keep the old PTA system. There is a strong constituency to eliminate it and there is a sympathetic General Assembly in place. So, after about 87 years of some form of PTA, it could be just a matter of (a relatively short) time before we have it GONE. We would then join the many other states where a buyer of a new handgun shows his drivers license, goes through the NICS-check system and walks out with his new handgun. Handguns would be treated much like other forms of PRIVATE PROPERTY.
This was the 6th time in the year 2006 that SACMO has testified before house or senate hearings regarding topics ranging from “Stand Your Ground”, PTA reform, State of Emergency confiscation of firearms, plus conducting a survey of PTAs from every sheriff in the state, providing the results to every member of the General Assembly and then hosting a breakfast for the General Assembly to focus attention on the evils of PTA. You should be impressed with SACMO’s level of performance.
SACMO cannot continue this tremendously effective pace unless people like you support it. Please don’t take the attitude, “Why should I buy the cow since I am getting the milk for free.”
Resolve right now to add your contribution to support the Second Amendment Coalition of Missouri so that it can continue this important work. Please send your check or money order payable to SACMO, at 517 Connie Lane, Manchester, Mo. 63021. Thank you.
previous
letters
07/15/05 4/26/05 3/8/05 1/16/05
12/4/04 5/21/04 3/18/04 3/15/04 2/2/04
12/22/03 09/29/03 09/12/03 08/14/03 08/06/03
06/11/03 05/05/03 05/02/03 4/28/03 4/20/03
4/11/03 4/9/03 4/4/03 3/17/03 3/5/03 2/21/03
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